Discuss how this campaign concept could be developed

[Gold & Appel Inc]

Originally Posted by CousinX

And/or, for extra campiness, perhaps a "Cobra"-like (as in the bad guys from G.I.Joe) group ... who may or may not be backed by the second unofficial Australian government Psi Black Ops squad....

The Cobra group wouldn't even have to know... The Psionic Black Ops could let the (possibly Psionic) Terrorist Ops capture and torture or mind-probe patsies who only know what Cobra needs to know, because they're paranoid about a third Psi-powered group grabbing an agent of Cobra and finding out the secret. Possible Motive: Cobra is meant to horrify the public enough that they demand draconian countermeasures via democratic means, paving the way for the Psi Ops to eventually drop their cover and operate openly, egregiously violate privacy, etc ala 1984. Possible (and not mutually-exclusive) Motive #2: Cobra is the Psi Ops' scapegoat, always happening to be doing something flashy in the area when the Ops need a distraction or cover for their own dirty deeds.

Originally Posted by CousinX

On the other hand, a "psi-spec-ops" prison break caper could be a lot of fun....

Totally, but I was getting the impression that the Anti-Psi the PCs have would be Psi Static all around (and thus no other Psi) rather than Neutralize, since it functions all the time without the knowledge that they have it, in which case they'd be breaking out using their mundane espionage skills.

[chrisjapow]

Originally Posted by ajardoor

Discuss how this campaign concept could be developed

Why does this feel like an essay exam question?

[ajardoor]

Originally Posted by Michele

If by that you mean the Kristallnacht, yes, I've heard about it, and I can tell you it was not a typical secret police operation. It was largely carried out by the SA and SS, that is armed members of party militias. It was, not just figuratively but literally, not a cloak-and-dagger job, but a sledgehammer job.
The only role of the SD was to be delivered the written records of synagogues and Jewish associations. The Kripo and Orpo had a very marginal involvement, in protecting non-Jewish property, and were under orders to make sure Jewish property was destroyed but not plundered (here, they largely failed). I don't know of any significant involvement by the Gestapo; at most, since a large number of arrests were carried out that night to feed the concentration camp workforce, they may have focused on a few arrestees they might have had a special interest in, but they could have done that any other night of the year.

Apart from this, it seems an interesting campaign concept. I think, however, that it would be very useful to define the main threat, before getting into possible adventures, missions and standing plot themes.
So they are all anti-psis. Are psis really the main threat? What's their agenda, their modus operandi? Is this an enemy-within threat? Or are there foreign powers involved, if so, what do they want? Are there other normal, or para-normal, or supernatural threats? Aliens? Again, what do they want? Etc.

1. Oops.

2. Psis will be the main SUPERNATURAL threat, although mundane threats like a dirty bomb might just be worse than some chump with TK. In the setting, psychic powers are 'illegal' unless 'sanctioned' by the Australian government -- although the public DOES NOT KNOW PSIS EXIST AT ALL OR THAT IT'S ILLEGAL TO BE A PSYKER, IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOU ARE ONE. Yeah, this is a dark game, alright. No aliens or mages, but there may be werewolves, vampires and ghosts, though. Enemy psykers will usually be individuals with their own agendas, but groups of psyker may be foreign agents, terrorists, freemason-style corrupt businessmen and extra-normal crime syndicates.

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

In addition to the odd dangerous and/or criminal rogue psi kicking around, I'd definitely have an opposing group that only recruits psis. For bonus points, make it the other unofficial Australian government Black Ops squad. They don't even know about the PCs yet, and won't be able to find out everything on their first encounter by having a mind-reader talk to them, but they are extremely well-trained and well-equipped (but probably just with mundane stuff, not ultra-tech psi-amplifiers, unless you want them to be in cahoots with aliens who provide it or something, to keep their ability to invent stuff in check. The alien subversion could provide the reason why elements in the government decided to start a second group to oppose the first...). Once the enemy figures out that the PCs can't be affected by their powers directly, they'll change up their tactics and throw people who don't need to do anything direct to the target with their Psi, but let the PCs own them the first time as they waste Concentrate maneuvers trying to throw them around with TK or whatever. Watch out for the Teleporting snipers! Plus Teleporting saboteurs, Teleporting kamikaze drivers, Teleporting anything, really. Mind-controllers possessing the people they trust, either to use them as assassins or for subtler purposes such as gathering intelligence or slipping the PCs the drug that nullifies their Anti-Psi (after they learn of it).

Rogue agent! S/he got over the Amnesia, knows The Awful Truth, and just can't stomach it.

If you're not going to give them Legal Enforcement Powers [10] for the official ability to kill and grossly violate civil rights with a national jurisdiction, I suggest that you be doubly extra sure to head off a serious case of butthurt by emphasizing to the players that that Patron is their only safety net. Blow your availability roll, and it becomes a Life In Prison campaign (unless you want to deus ex machina them out of it the first time - good way for the Rogue Agent to gain their trust if s/he pulls off a rescue that the Company wouldn't touch).

1. Oooh, yes, I like that!!

2. Hmmm, good wild card option. Kudos!

3. Yep, they can't just wave a badge around to solve their problems. Secret police means secret. They fail their Patron roll and they don't get the strings pulled for them in time.

Originally Posted by CousinX

Perhaps ajardoor meant the Night of Long Knives?

Yeah, that sounds right. Silly me!

[ajardoor]

Originally Posted by Gold & Appel Inc

The Cobra group wouldn't even have to know... The Psionic Black Ops could let the (possibly Psionic) Terrorist Ops capture and torture or mind-probe patsies who only know what Cobra needs to know, because they're paranoid about a third Psi-powered group grabbing an agent of Cobra and finding out the secret. Possible Motive: Cobra is meant to horrify the public enough that they demand draconian countermeasures via democratic means, paving the way for the Psi Ops to eventually drop their cover and operate openly, egregiously violate privacy, etc ala 1984. Possible (and not mutually-exclusive) Motive #2: Cobra is the Psi Ops' scapegoat, always happening to be doing something flashy in the area when the Ops need a distraction or cover for their own dirty deeds.

Totally, but I was getting the impression that the Anti-Psi the PCs have would be Psi Static all around (and thus no other Psi) rather than Neutralize, since it functions all the time without the knowledge that they have it, in which case they'd be breaking out using their mundane espionage skills.

1. Interesting conspiracy, very Reichstag fire.

2. I haven't yet settled on exact abilities yet. I was thinking Neutralise with Unconscious Only and Uncontrollable. This way, it will be slightly easier for enemy psis to affect them without needing to slip them psi suppression drugs. Maybe I'd allow PCs to develop other powers once they realise they're a psyker, assuming they go through the difficult task of gaining permission from their superiors and acquire the right psi amplifiers to train with, AND spend the character points.

[ajardoor]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

You've mentioned Monster Hunters, are there meant to be any monsters around?

Obvious candidates are the yowie and the bunyip.

The yowie is equivalent to yeti and sasquatch, although some interesting conjecture makes them more closely related to orangutans. In a modern day campaign, they could have some sort of glamour or shapeshifting ability to allow them to stay undiscovered on the fringes of civilisation.

The bunyip's a dragon-like water spirit. Having one in Sydney Harbour that comes out and eats tourists before disappearing back into the water would be kinda cool.

Otherwise you could get ghost hauntings in many older parts of Sydney, particularly around the Rocks, but also in inner city suburbs like Paddington or Kings Cross.

On my list of mundane antagonists would be bikie gangs and ethnic gangs, which have been getting a lot of headlines lately with feuding, and have been the subject of popular crime dramas like Underbelly, although it might be a stretch to involve them with psionics.

Was there any reason you want to set it in Australia? (I'm presuming you're not Australian, but if you are forget I asked.)

Yeah, I'm Australian.

The bunyip and yowie sound like good monsters to use.

The biker gangs as antagonists reminds me of a level in Hitman: Contracts where you had to assassinate a bikie gang leader and steal some evidence out of his safe.